Benefits of Giving Wisely

We're very pleased that you are interested in supporting the Institute of HeartMath. Your generosity will help us meet our current goals and reach farther in the future.

For our part, we encourage you to plan your gift thoughtfully. Now is the time, and this website is the place, to consider how your gift can benefit you as well as us.

Your gift can take multiple forms and can help you address a variety of personal financial goals. We're ready to work with you and your advisors to craft the gift plan that best meets your goals and objectives. But first, use the following guide to help you weigh your options:

Give now, or give later?

A significant outright gift to IHM will allow us to meet immediate objectives. In turn, it will give you maximum tax benefits, especially attractive if you are in high earnings years. It can also be the simplest gift to arrange.

You may, however, prefer to leave your assets and cash flow alone until your death, and instead make your gift through your estate. Even though we cannot use this gift immediately, it will be critically important to our long-term financial strength and help ensure our ability to meet the opportunities and challenges the future will present us.

To make a gift from your estate, you use a will or revocable trust. You may also use life insurance or the balance remaining in your retirement plan. These gifts help you keep your lifetime financial planning flexible, although they provide only limited income tax benefits.

You will need professional assistance to set up most estate-plan gifts.

What assets to give?

• Cash
  It is, of course, the easiest transaction for both you and us. You are limited only by your cash flow and your inclination to draw from your cash reserves.
• Appreciated securities
  Get the same tax deduction as if you had given cash, but use stocks, bonds, or mutual fund shares that cost you less than they are currently worth. Your deduction is based on market value, but you incur no capital gains liability on the transfer to us: It's one of the best tax incentives left, and we can work with your broker to make a gift of securities simple.
• Real estate
  Gifts of land, vacation homes or income-producing properties can bring great benefits to us. We have to review each gift proposal carefully and sometimes it's not practical for us to accept. You can give real estate outright, transfer it in a part sale/part gift arrangement, use it to fund a life-income gift, or give your residence and reserve the right to continue to live there.
• A retirement account
  The balance remaining in your retirement account after your death is often subject to double taxation if it passes to your heirs, by being taxed both as income and as an estate asset. Result? Over 75% of the account value may go to taxes. It's a better plan to designate the remainder of your account to us, and then use other assets for gifts to your family. New regulations simplify the procedure of naming a charity as beneficiary, and we are ready to help you plan this gift.
• Appreciated assets
  You may be holding a book collection or artwork that you no longer wish to maintain. Instead, these assets could bring real benefit to us. There are particular IRS requirements to meet before you can deduct a gift of appreciated assets. And, we will review each gift proposal carefully to make sure that we can put the asset to good use.
• Business interests
  A partnership, an interest in a business, shares of closely held stock, or a limited partnership share may all hold value for us. We'll review the proposed gift, and if we agree will work with you and your advisors to make the transfer simple.

How can a gift pay you back?

Your gift to IHM does not have to be made outright, because we offer gift plans that pay you income in return for your contribution. You can receive fixed or variable income, take payments for your lifetime or for a term of years, and direct the income to beneficiaries other than yourself. In essence, you make a contribution to us yet retain benefits from what you give away.

Your charitable deduction is based on the full market value of the assets you give us, minus the present value of the income interest you retain. The higher the income payout, the lower the deduction.

These flexible, creative gifts address a variety of your planning objectives. For our part, the return of income allows you to consider a more substantial gift to us than you might be able to afford in an outright format. Even though we cannot use these gifts until the death of the last income beneficiary, they give us long-term financial strength that will sustain us in the future.

Go to the Ways to Give Wisely tab to learn more about these gifts.